A Swedish sports brand is trolling Russia by launching a blockchain same-sex 'marriage' service – just days before the World Cup

The platform lets people send “Will you Marry Me” proposals to their special someone.

Björn borg / Marriage unblocked

Just days before the World Cup, Swedish sports brand Björn Borg is throwing shade at the Russian government's attitude towards gay people.

'Marriage Unblocked' is a campaign and a platform that aims to open access to gay marriage using blockchain.

The first couple to get “married” through the platform is Swiss.

Björn Borg, a Swedish sports fashion brand, has devised a campaign to call out Russia and other countries that haven't legalized gay marriage.

‘Marriage Unblocked’ is a platform and website the company has built to allow anyone “to exchange vows and get married on the blockchain, anonymously or proudly in public,” Björn Borg says in a press release. (The company licensed its name from the eponymous tennis legend.)

“We believe that sport is love and love is equal. The first basic right is to love whomever you want. With our new platform Marriage Unblocked we can decentralize power and open up marriages for everyone wanting to get married,” says Jonas Lindberg Nyvang, Marketing Director at Björn Borg.

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That the launch coincides with the opening of the World Cup in Russia this week is “no coincidence”, a Björn Borg representative said to BI Nordic. Indeed, already when expanding to Russia in 2013, the fashion house trolled Putin's government with a rainbow-colored ad saying: "Björn Borg says da!”.

A marriage cerificate from Marriage Unblocked.

Björn Borg / Marriage unblocked

The first people to exchange vows on "Marriage Unblocked" were two women from Switzerland – a nation that belongs to the 87 percent of the world's countries that don’t currently recognize same-sex marriages by law, the Swedish brand notes.

“Our blockchain-wedding will not give us equal or legal rights yet, but the feeling of coming closer to acceptance is a huge step forward,” said the couple, Alexandra and Sybille.

“Blockchain is not just a technological revolution, it is primarily a socioeconomic revolution. Marriage Unblocked is a great example of how we can use technology to question how marriage is controlled and set up,” said Thomas Backlund, founder of Superblocks, the platform's tech provider.

Björn Borg is now inviting gay couples from around the world to formalize their love on a distributed ledger. However, divorces or annulments will not be dealt with – a marriage on the blockchain lasts “forever.”